Up to 82% Off on First and Business Class: No Ifs, Ands, or Buts About It

For international or domestic travel whether you belong to a mileage program or not. But get on it: The deal ends Sept. 30.

Alaska Airlines, the renegade of the airline world, is at it again. It’s having a sale on frequent flyer miles (see FCF’s Aug. 13 alert), which anyone can buy, that can get you up to 82% off on routes that Alaska doesn’t fly—but lots of its airline partners do the world over.

The key move here is to join Alaska’s frequent flyer program, Mileage Plan (takes five minutes), and use the miles on its extensive network of partner airlines—which includes American, Air France, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qantas, and eight others. The deal is so lucrative it’s worth paying attention to.

Eligibility

(Almost anyone, see page 15, if you see differently)
Anyone who has been a member of Alaska’s frequent flyer program for 10 days is eligible. Join today and use the waiting period to check availability for trips you have planned or are simply thinking about. (See booking steps on page 7.)

The Deal

Alaska is offering a bonus of up to 40% on miles purchased. Translation: Up to 82% off Premium Air Travel (details in a moment). The maximum purchase per transaction is 40,000 miles, but there’s no limit to the number of transactions.You get the 40% bonus if you buy 30,000 miles or more; the bonus rate decreases as the number of miles purchased does. The cost is 2¢ per mile plus 7.5% tax (after bonus).

In Other Words

So why join Alaska’s Mileage Plan if you’ll never fly the carrier? Simple: To use its liberal mileage-purchase policy to book one of its 14 partners (details below). You’re not buying Alaska Miles; you’re investing in a highly convertible currency, which FCF calls a Super Airline Currency. With these miles, you can save up to 82% on premium air travel, whether it originates in North America or abroad.

Sample Savings

Domestic Flights
Save up to 70% on a First Class transcon flight on American. The published fare from New York to LAX is $4,822. Booking the ticket using Alaska miles drops the cost up to 70% (up to $3,373 off), at just $1,449 round-trip.

International Flights
Save up to 75% on a First Class flight on British Airways. The published First Class fare from New York to London is $12,355 r/t. With this special booking strategy, the price drops to $3,040 (includes the award taxes), a savings of $9,315 (75%). See chart below for more sample route savings.

Samples of More Unbelievable Opportunities

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More Reasons to Like this Strategy

Kick the Tires First
Some airlines, among them Air France, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic, require you to sign up for their mileage program in order to check award space online or to see whether a deal is real. Alaska does not, so you can see what’s on offer before taking the time to join.

See Availability Easily
Search online here to see availability on Alaska partners Aeromexico, Air France, Alaska, American, British Airways, Delta, Emirates, Fiji Airways, KLM, Korean, and Qantas; for travel on Cathay Pacific and LAN call Alaska at (800) 252-7522.

Flexibility = Options
Alaska’s new “Mix and Match” awards allow you to use a different partner in each direction or to book a one-way award. All of its partners, except Delta and Korean, allow one-way bookings at 50% mileage cost. (See , page 2, for more on the importance of one-way awards.)

Significantly Less Cash Outlay
On some international routes, Alaska charges lower award taxes than the airline itself charges via its own mileage program which actually operates the flight. For example,
Air France’s Business Class award taxes on the New York-Paris route are $652 round-trip, while a ticket booked through Alaska’s mileage program for travel on Air France incurs only $162 in taxes, a savings of $490 (75%).

Actual Seat Availability?

International Travel: Air France and Emirates have good odds. In fact, FCF research found that Air France Business Class flight awards were available using Alaska miles much more often than with Delta’s SkyMiles.

What is even more amazing is that Emirate’s A380 First Class was available 30 days in April (that is every day) on the JFK-Dubai leg, a ticket that costs well over $14,000. See chart on page 9 for more favorable partner route availability.

For Domestic Travel
First Class on American on its three-cabin transcontinental route (NY to LA and SF): Award space was available 23 days in November on the LAX-JFK leg. The otherwise $4,800 ticket can be had for just $1,449 through this booking strategy. See chart below for more favorable First Class award availability on LAX-JFK round-trip.

Survey of Award Availability Using Alaska Miles for Travel on American in First Class

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Upgrade Food For Thought

When should I buy miles?
In short: When published premium fares are high. Maybe $1,500+ for domestic tickets, and say $3,500+ for Business and $4,500+ for First Class international tickets. Published international First and Business Class fares are often at their highest when booked inside the 50-day advance-purchase window, or when you don’t have the minimum-stay requirement, or when special fares are not offered on the route.

Continental U.S. & Canada Awards
The best value is for First Class on three-cabin American flights (65,000 miles r/t). You might not want to use Alaska miles on an American two-cabin aircraft because Alaska charges 15,000 more miles than AA does; use AA miles at 50,000 for Business Class transcon. Otherwise, fly Delta (50,000 miles)

Australia Awards
One of the best deals, if you don’t mind a connection in Melbourne or Brisbane. Qantas seldom discounts First and Business Class, and it charges heftily for awards: LAX-Sydney costs 192,000 points r/t for Business Class. Using Alaska miles drops the cost to 110,000 miles r/t for Business Class. In November, we found Qantas has Business Class award space via Alaska miles 23 days out of the month on the LAX- Sydney leg, a ticket which otherwise costs $7,800.

Sample Booking Process: New York-Dubai in First Class

Step One: Here is the Alaska link for checking award partner space online. Click on “Award Calendar” to see a month at a glance, and make sure that the “Award Type” shows “Miles Only”. Then hit “Find Flights”.

Step Two: When the calendar comes up, filter the search results by “Award Type” (Business or First Class). This can’t be done on the “Find Flights” screen. Then see the “Legend” (just beneath) and then look for “Lowest Award,” which is highlighted in light green.

Step Three: Click on your travel date and hit “Continue” to bring up flight options and award cost. From here you can refine your search by requesting only non-stop flights or only a certain airline. To check for a different date, click on a date in the header, or use the header to move a week up or back.

Step Four: Select flights by clicking on “Add To Cart.” I prefer to check for award space one-way, so I note the date/flight that works for me in each direction and then book my trip by going back to step one and requesting the space round-trip without clicking on the “Award Calendar” search.

Step Five: Once you hit “Add To Cart,” your itinerary comes up as well as the price. From here you can change flights or hit “Proceed to Checkout”, at which point Alaska requests your mileage account number and checks that the miles are in your account. Which is why you want to sign up (it’s free and takes less than 5 minutes) as soon as possible (maybe even before you start looking for flights) as you have to be a member for 10 days before you can take advantage of the mileage-purchase special offer.

Step Six: Alaska will not hold award space unless the miles needed are in your account. If you have a mileage account with Alaska, get on the phone (or have two web browsers open) and book the space while purchasing the miles online. When the reservationist confirms your flights, hit the mileage-purchase button. The miles should show up in your account within seconds, as they did on my last transaction.

More Upgrade Mindset Thoughts, Questions

• Which partner flight awards must be booked round-trip? Delta and Korean. All other partners, such as Air France and Qantas, can be booked one-way.
• If I live in Australia, Asia, or Europe, can I still buy miles with a bonus? Yes
• Which Alaska partners offer First Class international awards? American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Emirates.
• Which credit card offers point transfers to Alaska? Starwood.
• Which Alaska partners offer awards on A380s? Our research shows that Emirates has good Business Class award space on its A380 from New York to Dubai, as does Air France from New York to Paris in Business.
• Stopovers? Yes, a possibility, but only on international awards. Domestic stopovers are only allowed with Alaska flights.
• How far out can award travel be booked with Alaska miles on its partners? 330 days.

Route Survey of Award Availability Using Alaska Miles for Travel on Partner Airlines

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